"You mean a deal?" Unas corrected. "Alright, deal. We can help you rescue your master."
Please remove the iron helmet from my face.
"You can remove it, but you can't attack us with red rays anymore."
"Won't."
So far, the puppet has kept all its promises. It may be true that it doesn't lie, but that can't be entirely believed.
Unas, wary, carefully used his sword to remove the iron helmet covering the puppet's face. The puppet, true to its word, did not attack but instead demanded, "Please repeat the deal I just made."
Why? Don't you believe me?
"Yes," the robot said bluntly, "My master said that most humans are untrustworthy."
"But I am Paladin, the embodiment of fairness and justice, and I do not lie," Unas bluffed, though his statement itself was a lie.
"Based on my analysis and calculations," the puppet's eyes flashed with blue light as it stared at the Foolish Paladin, mercilessly exposing him, "There's a possibility that you're lying about what you said."
"I don't accept this. You say 95%, fine, but how did you calculate the 28 after the decimal point? Can you explain it?" Unas tried to confuse the puppet's thinking by arguing, while secretly being alarmed.
No wonder it removed its helmet; its blue magical crystal eyes have a lie detector-like ability, able to calculate the truthfulness of a person's speech just by looking at them. This magical technology is amazing.
However, now is not the time for praise. Unas would never agree to rescue Merlin, that evil and cruel villain. Taking advantage of his sleep to kill him with a single blow is what he most wants to do to this Zombie mage.
"Please repeat our transaction," Talo repeated.
Unas composed himself, knowing that remaining silent would likely prevent him from obtaining the secret order. The puppet, unfazed by torture, said, "Our deal is as follows: Puppet Talo will teach the five of us the secret code to the first floor, and I will fully assist Puppet Talo in Redemption Merlin Firestone."
He changed rescue to Redemption, because in Unas's mind, destroying Merlin's body and spirit was a form of Redemption; such a heinous villain should not exist in this world.
"Redemption?"
Talo indeed noticed the problem, unsure how the word was explained in its dictionary. Unas had no choice but to blurt out, "Redemption is a religious term, far superior to rescue, aid, cure, care, save lives, or save a person. It involves not only saving a person's body but also Redemption their soul. Now you understand my sincerity, don't you?"
The puppet seemed a little dizzy from all the words related to "saving," its eyes flashing rapidly, like an overloaded computer.
Unas suppressed a laugh; he was doing it on purpose, hoping to get away with it.
Finally, Talo's "judgment" stabilized. "Based on my calculations and analysis, there's a 68% probability that it's true, close to 70%. I can trust you."
Unas breathed a sigh of relief, finally passing the test. However, he still had one question, "Wait a minute, what about the two decimal places? Why are they gone this time? Your calculation formula seems very unscientific."
"..." The puppet ignored him and began teaching the secret code. "@￥#%#..."
The long and convoluted incantation gave Unas a headache. He wondered why this portal connecting the first and second floors, which he used every day, had to be made so complicated. It would be so much better if it were like Alibaba's, where "Open Sesame" would solve everything.
Haikesi and the Druids were both spellcasters and easily mastered the spells, while Perella, Qingshui, and Unas, like everyone else, took a long time to memorize them. During this time, two puppet guardians happened to find their way here and joined Talo.
Talo ordered the two guards to each remove half of their joints and replace them with Talo's, thus turning one fully crippled and two normal puppets into one normal and two half-crippled puppets.
Unas, remembering his men trapped in the labyrinth, asked, "Now that we're out, can we break the Maze Spell from the outside? That way, all my men can escape, and with everyone working together, rescuing Lord Merlin will be much easier."
Talo nodded in agreement. "The Maze Spell Magic Circle should be on the first floor. Let's set off immediately."
Unas said to the Troll, "Haikesi, you stay here. After we destroy the labyrinth, everyone will pass through here. You'll be responsible for teaching the secret commands here."
"My lord, we may very well encounter the Spider God soon, and I wish to stay by your side." The Troll had no desire to be left alone in this dark corridor.
Qingshui said, "I'll stay."
"Then I'll leave it to you."
With everything prepared, Talo originally wanted to go ahead with the two puppet guards, Unas firmly disagreed. Now that the puppet butler had recovered and had helpers, he might try something funny, so they had to be careful.
So the order was staggered and they took turns. Unas was the first. Following the puppet's instructions, he placed his palm on the light gate, recited the secret command, and the blue light on the gate enveloped his entire body along his arm. Only in this state could he pass through the light gate.
Like stepping through a curtain of water, Unas suddenly arrived in a small study. The room must have been neglected for a long time, as it was covered in dust, and half-open books and scraps of paper filled the square desk.
He glanced at them casually; they were all experimental records of various drugs, along with new annotations. He could understand every word on the papers, but the sentences put together were incomprehensible, suggesting they were written in cipher.
Such careless discarding probably has little value. Just then, a flash of blue light appeared, and Talo emerged. He glanced around briefly. "The experimental document room on the first floor—the owner used to frequent this place."
After saying that, she actually started tidying up the mess of papers and books—daily cleaning is one of the behavioral rules for every magical puppet.
Unas fanned away the dust and asked, "Where is the magic Magic Circle for the Maze Spell?"
"Of course it won't be so conspicuous as to be easily discovered. Based on my analysis and deduction, it must be hidden in some room on the first floor." Talo said something that seemed like a pointless statement.
Perella and her companions, along with the two half-crippled puppets, appeared one after another. Upon their arrival, the two puppet guards immediately began cleaning the room without saying a word.
After everyone had arrived, Talo stopped. The group walked around the first floor, searching all the rooms but found no Magic Circle. They only found many strangely shaped spider specimens.
These things must have been collected by Gunsel, because the puppets carelessly threw them into a pile as if they were trash—puppets would never do that to their master's things.
Now a question arises: should we find the Magic Circle and dispel the maze, then gather everyone to deal with Shadra? Or should we ignore the Magic Circle and our subordinates, and rely solely on our current strength to cause trouble for the Spider God?
After much hesitation, Unas decided that the first option was better. Although it was a waste of time, now that they were out of the maze, they no longer had to worry about Gunsel suddenly returning.